Category: Health Care Costs

Summer Setbacks: The Long Road To Lower Drug Prices Hits Some Potholes

Efforts to control drug prices seemed on a glide path earlier this year after gaining traction at the White House and in Congress. But prospects today look less certain and highly controversial.

Why It’s So Hard To Predict How Much Funding 9/11 First Responders Need

Eighteen years ago, most first responders were not thinking about their future health when they spent hours searching “The Pile” for the remains of terror victims. Today, their illnesses are a slow-moving epidemiological nightmare that has been as difficult for scientists to study as it has been easy for politicians to overlook.

Federal Suit Alleges ‘Staggering’ Urine Drug Testing Fraud At Tennessee Pain Clinics

Tennessee company’s Medicare billings for urine tests were examined by Kaiser Health News in 2017.

Retiring Abroad? Prepare To Possibly Mix And Match Health Insurance

More than 400,000 U.S. workers have retired in foreign countries and their ranks are rising. But Medicare doesn’t cover most expenses overseas, so these expats will need to confront the cost of finding alternative insurance.

Biden’s ‘Incremental’ Health Plan Still Would Be A Heavy Lift

The proposal is far from minimal and includes several provisions that Congress has failed repeatedly to enact, including some that were part of the original Affordable Care Act debate.

A Conservative Group Paints Trump’s Drug-Pricing Experiment As ‘Socialist.’ Is It?

The Americans for Tax Reform commercial takes too broad a brush against an initiative under consideration by the administration that would be part of the president’s promise to curb high drug prices.

Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes

Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health care policy stories each week, so you don’t have to.

KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Biden Doubles Down On Obamacare

Presidential candidate Joe Biden unveiled a health plan intended to provide a more moderate alternative to his competitors’ “Medicare for All” plans. It would build on the Affordable Care Act but would go much further. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Joanne Kenen of Politico and Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this, plus Planned Parenthood’s very bad week, the U.S. House vote to repeal the health law’s “Cadillac tax” on generous health plans, and the reduction in deaths from opioids.

Surprise Medical Bill Legislation Takes A Step Forward, But Will It Lead To A Step Back?

A House committee approved its version of legislation to solve the problem of surprise medical bills. But the measure includes a key provision that’s got less support in the Senate.

‘An Arm And A Leg’: Journalist Learns The Hard Way That CPAP Compliance Pays

Check the fine print. When you get a prescription for expensive medical equipment, you may need to follow the doctor’s orders — to the letter — to get your health insurance company to pay up.